Published: 28 April 2025
Last updated: 28 April 2025
If a week is a long time in politics, a five-week election campaign is an eternity.
When I wrote two months ago that antisemitism was shaping up to be a key issue in an Australian federal election for the first time in our lives, the issue dominating the lives of Jewish Australians was also dominating the news cycle and political debate.
Newspoll had the Coalition ahead 51-49 on a two-party preferred basis, and a hung parliament was looming as overwhelmingly likely. The prospect of the Albanese Labor Government becoming the first single-term government to lose in Australia since 1931 was a plausible scenario. Peter Dutton was not only resonating with the Jewish community, he seemed to have the momentum and ascendancy with the broader population.
But a lot has changed in the last two months. Midway through the election campaign proper, Labor now leads Newspoll 52-48. Dutton’s approval ratings have plummeted, Anthony Albanese’s lead as Preferred Prime Minister has widened, and Labor has gone from a $2.60 outsider to hold government with Sportsbet in early March to a $1.16 favourite in mid-April.
Comments2
Steve Holstein29 April at 11:54 am
Did anyone see the ECAJ federal election survey brochures. The typesetting alone felt like a campaign electioneering brochure, with one particular party placed more prominently and given more space than the others.
The ECAJ claim they do not advocate for a particular party but know exactly what issues are important to the Jewish community. (and therefore those that are not), On the basis of the survey, the Jewish community doesn’t care much about housing affordability, socially supportive government, sustainability or mature international relations, but they care deeply about Antisemitism and Israel.
Antisemitism is rightly a huge concern, but creating questions that look like an exact fit for one party may not be the best way to show how widely this concern is shared. Instead of a broader call on the issue, the first question points to “An independent oversight by an Inspector who would report to the Parliamentary Joint Committee”. Enter the liberal candidate and you have a slam dunk, a policy made to fit.
To give credit, the ECAJ have collated the candidate’s views regarding Israel and antisemitism. With 16 pages per brochure, it may have been helpful to point out key differences, which are not that many. Both parties support Israel as an ally with shared values. Labor claims to be stronger on hate speech, supporting laws that Liberals walked away from in the past. Liberals indicate unconditional support for Israel in the UN, whereas Labor state that they will also follow the guidance of broader close allies, not just the US.
Given the sensitivity of all the major candidates to Jewish issues, it would not be good, nor would it be a fair reflection of on our values, if the Jewish community are openly encouraged to turn their backs on some excellent Labor and Independent candidates.
Stuart28 April at 07:49 am
100% right.
Labor will win and putting all bets on blue has not made sense.
Community needs to reconcile with Teals too. Especially in Wentworth.